'twas the night before Xmas

And all thru the house.

I am fortunate this year to spend this Christmas married to the love of my life and looking forward to growing old and spending a lifetime of Christmases together.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Run baby run

With the last race of the season on the schedule, Desiree and Kristi have been working hard to go out with a bang. To help with the motivation for Desiree's training, I've been getting up and have been doing 5 AM runs with her. She says that she was more prepared that her last 2 half marathons.

The terrain was set to be unfriendly. The stage- Lake Louisa Park with a constant rolling course for running. I had an easy job of helping out on my bike to lead the way for the lead runner. After bringing him into the finish line crossing at 1:17:43 @ a sub 6min/mile pace, I set out to find Desiree and kristi and cheer them on on course.

Both set PRs. Desiree ended up finishing at 1:54:37 with an 8:45min/mile pace and kristi coming in just a couple mins behing with a 1:56 and change. Desiree's training paid off and she has done 1 half marathon in each of the past 3 months!

I'm so proud of her and she has some well deserved time of rest!

Yay!

early christmas?

what could it be?
Openning the box can only tell. There is a remenance of a saddle, lots of protective bubble wrap...hum..?
If it looks like a bike box, feels light like a bicycle, then maybe it is.

I have a new steed to join the stable:
2010 Colnago CX-1 fully outfitted with SRAM red and DT Swiss rr1.1 wheels with 240 hubs.
The Colnago CX-1 is Colnago's first monocoque frameset. They only have the front triangle as a monocoque as the rear triangle uses their traditional lugged joints. The M10 is built off similar technology as the CX-1 however it is a full monocoque frameset.

I am more of a shimano guy, so I will be outfitting the frameset with Dura Ace 7900 and stripping the SRAM Red components. I'm looking forward to feel the characteristics that Colnago has to offer.

Welcome to the family!
More Pictures.

Lucky's

I woke up and went for a run with Desiree. Then I plan to put my new rubber to the test! Lucky's it is. Not get lucky, but Lucky's infamous swim off his dock. I finally got to use my new wetsuit. The Hurricane Cat 5 sleeveless worked like a charm.
Lucky's house is gorgeous. He has an in-door pool and his outdoor screened-in oasis- regular pool, a 1-lane lap pool, a hot tub, and a bridge crossing. Then there is the 'wall of fame.' This is the back exterior wall and ceiling of his house. After I finished a lap, I got to do the honors of signing my name as well and picking up some shwag.
I can now say that I have entered the food chain of Lucky's Lake and am a survivor!

The swim- Volker is the one who invited me to experience Lucky's as he is a member of the 100K club. We met and headed out to the dock and I was debriefed on the etiquettes of the swim. I pulled on my wetsuit, cap and goggles and off we went. The initial rush submerging yourself under cold water is invigorating. I settled in and stayed to the left of the bouyes. 500m across and I was still alive. I had to take a few breast strokes to give my shoulders a break and reorient myself. We reached the opposite side, took a little break, and off we went to back back across. Another 500m. I felt this time I was a little more relaxed, doing a little better job siting and keeping a somewhat straight course to Lucky's dock. That was it for me, 1 lap out and back. This was the furthest distance I have swam non-stop and surprisingly my shoulders held up. In a pool, you get to rest and push off the wall. Also, this was only the 2nd open-water swim I have ever done.
The wetsuit- The fit was great. I am wearing a size medium and am on the lower limit per TYR's sizing chart. M- 5'8" - 6'1", 150-188 lbs. I can't imagine somebody on the upper limits fitting into this suit! Since this was the second time only ever wearing a wetsuit, I'm pretty commenting as if it were my first time. I felt that I could move great in the suit and it was amazing how my legs stayed up. I found out that I am a chest and stomach breather and having a wetsuit on is something that I'll have to get used to as a felt alittle restricted in the chest area. Since is was a sleeveless, I obviously didn't feel any restriction in the shoulder region. The suit was very easy to put on and take off.
I'm looking forward to more time getting the suit stretched out and spending more time in H-2-O.

More Pictures- Click
More detail of Lucky's